


Mournival (Language Lessons, 19)

by ImpOfPerversity



Series: Language Lessons [19]
Category: Baroque Cycle - Neal Stephenson, Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: 1 Sentence Fiction, Languages, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-02
Updated: 2006-01-02
Packaged: 2018-11-12 12:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11161578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpOfPerversity/pseuds/ImpOfPerversity





	Mournival (Language Lessons, 19)

So fabulous a word (encountered while researching card-games) that I felt the inclination to invent a new literary form for it: four 500-word sentences.  
This follows [_Reciprocity_](http://www.livejournal.com/community/impofperversity/64848.html#cutid1), and isn't in the usual Sentence-verse.  
Happy new year to you all!  
  
To be summoned to the Captain's cabin was a bittersweet experience for Joe Henry, inasmuch as it implied an interest, on Captain Sparrow's part, in his humble self, an opportunity to have all that glitter and sway focussed on Joe Henry the cabin-boy; but then, such a summons invariably ensued from some discovered misdemeanour, and Joe'd been on the knife-sharp, wickedly precise end of his Captain's tongue more often than he liked; and though, on prior occasions, he'd knocked on this very door armed with a fearsome (though seldom adequate) array of excuses, explanations, and redirections, today's summons was unexpected, for Joe had no notion, no idea at all, of what his current offense might be: all trepidatious, he tapped on the door with rather more timidity than was his wont; the Captain called, "Come in!", and Joe, entering, found that Captain Sparrow was not, after all, alone; for Jack Shaftoe -- who, Joe knew, was all an' everything to his Captain -- was sitting there on the cot (fully dressed, unlike that memorable night when Joe'd disturbed the two of them naked together in that very cot, and could've sworn that Shaftoe, fearsome laughing golden Jack Shaftoe, had _blushed_ ) with a bottle of rum to hand, peeling an orange, grinning at Joe as though amused at some great jest: the Captain was lounging in his chair, booted feet propped on the table -- it needed scrubbing, Joe couldn't help but notice: p'rhaps he was to be berated for some dereliction of duties? -- with his own half-empty bottle, and his own broad gleaming grin, clearly in the best of humour (as who wouldn't be, Captain of such a fine ship, with Jack Shaftoe as his lover?) and not scowling or sneering at his errant cabin-boy: "Well, Mr Henry," he said brightly, "perhaps you'd like to explain your disreputable behaviour of late?" and Joe stood, open-mouthed, his mind skittering through the events of the past few days, desperately trying to work out which of his crimes might've been found out and reported by some sneaky rat; Stone, p'rhaps, or Gill, or ... no, Jamie Martingale wouldn't've said, wouldn't've told; but Joe could feel his face burning at the bright memory of it, of what they'd done in the cool dark 'tween decks, Martingale's hand, o, Martingale's mouth; and he blushed more when Jack Shaftoe chuckled and said, "Jack, you ain't bein' fair; I'll warrant young Joe's all a-mazed with wrong-doing, an' yet it don't take much explanation, does it, the, the activity you're so intrigued -- o, I do beg your pardon -- so very _shocked and appalled_ by?" which words did nothing to still Joe's pounding heart, but did not prevent him from casting a reproachful look at Jack Shaftoe; "Why, Mr Shaftoe," said the Captain, directing a sharp smile at Shaftoe as though Joe weren't there at all, "am I to understand that you're implying some degree of _hypocrisy_ in my castigation of young Joe and his wicked depravities?"

* * *

"I reckon we should call young Martingale down," said Jack Sparrow, eyes agleam; "Jack, see to it, would you?" and Jack Shaftoe uncurled himself from the cot, that warm blue laughing gaze quite distracting Jack for a moment, stretched (o the muscles on him!), and sauntered out of the cabin, leaving Jack alone for a moment with blushing, sullen, fidgetsome Joe Henry; "Now, young Joe," he said, gathering his thoughts, "I can't deny I'm surprised at your 'venturousness: who'd've thought it, eh, that you and that Mr Martingale'd reach such an accord?" and Joe's mouth -- a pretty enough mouth, now Jack came to think of it, and what it'd no doubt been up to lately -- worked a moment before he burst out, "I 'pologise, Captain, if I did wrong -- if you don't care for such things on board the Pearl," and his hot, wide-eyed glare quite clearly called his captain the worst sort of hypocrite, if that were the case, "but I ain't sorry for it, Captain, for Jamie, he's ... he's ..." and Jack grinned -- thinking of slender, lithe Jamie Martingale, and his wistful glances, when he thought himself unobserved, t'wards Jack himself and Jack Shaftoe (who even now could be heard, at the end of the passageway, bellowing Martingale's name) -- and encouraged, "He's what, Joe?" and Joe Henry said, all in a rush, "O, he's wonderful, Captain, he's ... an' his hands, an' his mouth, Captain, an' ..." and blushed more fiercely than ever, chewing on his bottom lip; "Well," said Jack, trying not to smirk too openly, "I reckon Jamie Martingale's as fine and knowledgeable a tutor as any fellow on this ship, and a good deal better than most of 'em; 'sides, Joe, it's right and proper that a young man such as yourself should find some pleasurable company to while away his hours off-duty --" and Joe gabbled something about not letting it interfere with his work, but Jack's attention was diverted, for Jack Shaftoe was returning, and Jamie Martingale behind him, head bowed as though convicted and sentenced for some dread crime; and o, it'd be a fine thing, to have Martingale all humble and repenting, on his knees -- no, mustn't think of that, not with Shaftoe right there at his side, all warm and vibrating with suppressed amusement, resting his hand on Jack's shoulder and leaning down to murmur, o, such immoderate wickedness in Jack's ear that every sinew tightened, every atom quivered, every drop of blood in his entire corpus rushed t'wards where it was suddenly most urgently required; "Mr Shaftoe," he whispered, loud enough for the two miscreants to hear every word, "d'you seriously mean to suggest that these two gentlemen would be capable of providing us with an entertaining play -- nay, a _dumb-show_ \-- of the depravities they've been enacting of late?" and Jack Shaftoe chuckled, and said, "Why, Mr Martingale assured me he'd make it worth my while, if there turned out to be no ... punishment."

* * *

Jack Sparrow, as captain, had the largest of the cabins on the _Black Pearl_ ; but it weren't so very roomy, with four strapping fellows crowded into it, and Jamie could feel the sweat starting in the hollow of his back as he stood, awaiting the captain's judgement; waiting to be told he was some dreadful corruptor of youth, or that he'd abused his position of trust, or that Joe Henry'd made some complaint (though Jamie prided himself on having given Joe nothing to complain of; quite the contrary, if the lad's gasps and cries and glorious smile, after, had been anything to go by) and Jamie'd been called down to give his own account; but Jack Shaftoe, the _bastard_ , was standing by Jack Sparrow, grinning fit to start a fire and giving his captain all sorts of wicked ideas -- not a commodity, Jamie had to say, that Sparrow'd ever been short of -- about the two of 'em, Jamie and Joe, acting it out, performing like some lewd brothel-show; Jamie slid his gaze to Joe Henry, mute and red-faced before his captain, and Joe stared back at him like a panicked horse, the whites showing all 'round his eyes, frowning as though trying to convey some secret message; clearly 'twas up to Jamie Martingale to salvage whatever he could from this uncomfortable (albeit strangely stirring) situation, and so he said, "Captain, I'm sorry if you think I've, we've, done wrong; but if there's any punishment to be given out, better give it to me, eh?" to which Sparrow merely raised his eyebrows, tilted his head and set his forefinger to the corner of his mouth -- o, surely no man could be expected to ignore such provocation! -- and said, "Mr Martingale, I ain't in the business of punishing those who show initiative; but I'd hate to think of poor Joe, here, getting a raw deal (be quiet, Mr Henry, you'll get your say) and 'sides, you've promised to reward Mr Shaftoe for my forbearance -- which, come to think of it, don't seem quite right, since it's _me_ that's doing the forbearing -- so it seems to me you'd best treat us to a demonstration of your talents;" and he shifted in his chair, so that Jamie (and Shaftoe, and Joe) could see the long line of his prick through his breeches; Jamie swallowed, and licked his lips, and couldn't help smiling; "So what's it to be, captain?" he enquired, "am I to, ah, _demonstrate_ 'pon yourself? or will it be Mr Shaftoe? or Joe here?" and grinned at Joe, to show that he didn't mind any of it; and winked, as if to say, "If not now, mate, soon"; Jack Sparrow beamed at him -- 'twas like the cabin filling up with morning sun -- and said, "Jamie Martingale, there's three of us here, 'sides you; I reckon you can entertain us all, one way or another: and since I'm your captain, you can start with me."

* * *

Christ, Jamie Martingale was a harlot, all right; Jack wished he'd known girls one-tenth as willing and eager for it (though then he might never've come to Jack Sparrow, to Sparrow's bed and arms and that golden surge of lust that he felt every time he looked at the pirate) in his Vagabond days; and there was no denying that Martingale on his knees before his captain, one hand resting on Sparrow's thigh as if for balance, was a glorious sight, with his red mouth and his warm, incredulous green gaze; at Jack's side, though, Joe Henry was flushed and tense, taut with surprise or with some less _pleasant_ emotion, and Jack spared a thought for how the lad must feel, watching Jamie Martingale turn his talents to another man so soon after inducting Joe himself into the pleasures of two men together; Martingale, the wanton, wasn't helping, for it was plain to Jack that he'd got 'xactly what he'd been sighing after all the time that Jack'd known him, the undivided attention -- not to mention the dark bronzed body and, o, that hard heavy length, almost purple 'gainst Martingale's pale hand -- of Jack Sparrow; Jack felt his own cock leap at the thought of that wet mouth 'pon himself, and beside him Joe made an incoherent noise as Martingale set his lips to Sparrow's prick; Sparrow met Jack's gaze, and his own was black and shiny and full of sin and lust, sparking those sensations, and more, in Jack's own corpus, and for a moment he thought to distract Joe Henry from the scene before him by providing the lad -- nay, he was near as tall as Jack, now, and growing into those broad shoulders -- with a litte variety; but the way Joe was looking at Jamie, clamping his mouth shut 'gainst some protest, made Jack feel cruel to've entertained such thoughts; instead, he stepped forward and said, "Mr Martingale, I b'lieve we've seen enough; now, pray minister to your mate here, eh? for Jack Sparrow's _mine_ ," and the luminescence of Sparrow's smile proved that claim; Jack kissed him hard, as Martingale turned, still kneeling, and murmured something to young Joe, and whether it was something in the kiss or some Impish influence, a thought rose unbidden to the shallows of Jack's brain, and provoked him to say, "four of us, eh? there's a word for that, 'tis on the tip of my tongue;" then he must stop speaking in order for Captain Jack Sparrow to conduct a detailed inspection of that red, agile organ and pronounce the absence of any word, though as a matter of fact he could think of one or two, nay, three, four: " **mournival** ," exclaimed Jack, "meaning four of a kind: four pirates, Jack, or --" and Sparrow said, "oh, four knaves, I reckon," and Jack winked at Joe Henry, all wide-eyed and shivery with the doubled joy of Martingale's mouth and Jack's gaze on him, and said, "four _men_."

-end-


End file.
